Trinity Railway Express

An F59PH used on TRE
Overview
Type Commuter rail
Status Operating
Locale Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
Termini Union Station, Dallas
T&P Station, Fort Worth
Stations 10
Daily ridership 8,200[1]
Operation
Opened December 30, 1996
Owner Dallas Area Rapid Transit and Fort Worth Transportation Authority
Operator(s) Herzog Transit Services
Technical
Line length 34 miles[2]
Track gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification No
Route map
Legend

All stations are ADA accessible

Legend
DART Light Rail Union Station     Blue Line      Red Line
DART Light Rail Victory     Green Line      Orange Line
Medical/Market Center
South Irving Parking
West Irving Parking
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport CentrePort/DFW Airport Parking
Hurst/Bell Parking
Richland Hills Parking
Fort Worth ITC
T&P Station Parking
 Detailed diagram 
 Blue  to Ledbetter
 Red  to Westmoreland
Union StationAmtrak
 Blue  to Downtown Rowlett
 Red  to Parker Road
 Green  to Buckner
SH Spur 366 (Woodall Rogers Freeway)
Victory
 Green  to North Carrollton/Frankford
 Orange  to DFW Airport
Dallas North Tollway
Medical/Market CenterParking
I-35E
Trinity River
Loop 12
E.C. Junction

Downtown Irving/Heritage CrossingParking
W.C. Junction
SH 356
Elevated section

West IrvingParking
Pres. George Bush Tpk.

Maintenance Facility

Irving
Tarrant

county border

CentrePort/DFW AirportParking
SH 360
Hurst/BellParking
I-820
Richland HillsParking
Trinity River
Dalwor Junction
I-35W

6th St. Junction
SH Spur 280
Fort Worth
Intermodal Transportation Center

Amtrak

T&P StationParking

The Trinity Railway Express (or TRE) is a commuter rail line in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It was established by an interlocal agreement between Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T). Each transit authority owns a 50% stake in the joint rail project and contractor Herzog Transit Services operates the line. The TRE began operating in December 1996.[3]

As of the fourth quarter of 2014, the TRE has an average weekday ridership of 8,200 passengers per day and is the fifteenth most-ridden commuter rail system in the United States.[1] In 2014, the TRE carried 2,293,500 passengers.[1]

Before 2006, the TRE was typically shown as a green line on DART maps and therefore was sometimes referred to as the "Green Line," but this was not an official designation. In 2006, DART chose green as the color for its new light rail route, the Green Line. Since 2006, the TRE has been shown as a dark blue line on DART maps.

History

Named after the Trinity River, which flows between Fort Worth and Dallas, the TRE was launched on December 30, 1996, shortly after the inaugural service of Dallas' DART Light Rail system, operating from Union Station to the South Irving Station in Irving. On September 18, 2000, the line was extended to the Richland Hills Station and, for the first time, there was rail service available between downtown Dallas and DFW Airport. On November 13, 2000 the West Irving Station also opened. On December 3, 2001, the TRE was extended to its current terminus at the T&P Station in downtown Fort Worth.

Route

The eastern terminus of the TRE line is Dallas Union Station on the west side of downtown Dallas. The line runs northwest, past the American Airlines Center and Southwestern Medical Center, through Irving, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Hurst, and Richland Hills before ending with two stops in downtown Fort Worth (the Fort Worth Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th and Jones Streets and the T&P Station on Throckmorton Street). There are a total of ten regular station stops, including a stop at Victory Station (which until the opening of DART's Green line in September 2009, was used only for special events). Not all trains are through trains - a number of trains either terminate or originate at the CentrePort/DFW Airport Station.

Fleet

 Class  Image  Type(s)   Top speed   Number   Built 
 mph   km/h 
EMD F59PH Diesel Locomotive 110 177 7 1988–1994
EMD F59PHI Diesel Locomotive 110 177 2 2001
Budd Rail Diesel Car Diesel Multiple Unit 85 137 13 1949–62
Bombardier BiLevel Coach Passenger coach
Control Car
95 150 25 1976–77
2003
2007
2009

Diesel locomotives

TRE has a fleet of 9 locomotives.

There are seven EMD F59PH IV locomotives that were acquired from GO Transit.  The original numbers for these were #525, #527-528 and #565-568. These were overhauled in late 2010 by the Norfolk Southern Railroad and RELCO Locomotive to meet EPA standards and renumbered 120-126.[4]

There are two EMD F59PHI locomotives that were purchased from EMD. The numbers for these are #569 and #570.

Diesel multiple units

TRE owns 13 Budd Rail Diesel Cars, which were purchased from Via Rail Canada in 1993 and remanufactured by GEC Alsthom in Montreal.  In 2010-11 ten cars were leased to DCTA for the A-train, but all have been returned and are in storage at TRE shops in Irving, TX.

Coaches

Train consist

Information from the Trinity Railway Express Train Facts page

Each non-RDC train includes at least one locomotive unit and one bi-level cab car. Typically, one or two additional coach cars are included between the locomotive and cab car. Each cab car (and thus each train) has a restroom and passengers may move between cars during the trip. The trip from Union Station to T&P Station takes just over an hour, with scheduled trip times ranging from one hour, three minutes to one hour, eleven minutes. Track improvements are currently underway which should offer an improvement in travel times by double-tracking certain stations and sections of the route. Currently, portions of the route are single-track, requiring eastbound and westbound trains to meet only at certain points and requiring some eastbound trains to hold for 5–7 minutes to wait for a westbound train to get to the passing area.

Stations

Listed from east to west

References

  1. 1 2 3 APTA (March 3, 2015). "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter and End-of-Year 2014" (pdf). American Public Transportation Association. Retrieved January 1, 2016 via http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Pages/ridershipreport.aspx.
  2. http://www.dart.org/aptaraildallas/TREFAQ.pdf
  3. Mueller, Sarah (February 16, 2010). "Dallas woman killed Monday by TRE train identified". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  4. "Trinity Railway Express receives upgraded F59PHs". Trains Magazine. December 13, 2010. Retrieved December 17, 2010.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

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